


Begone Bambiii: A Study into Twitch's Worst

by hannahhsolo



Series: Twitch Thot AU [1]
Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Billy Hargrove Being an Asshole, Enemies to Lovers, Fluff, Harringrove Week of Love, Influencers, M/M, Steve sucks at video games, Twitch Streamer!Steve, Twitch Thot AU, Youtuber!Billy, steve harrington is a brat, this is a whole mess
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-11
Updated: 2020-02-11
Packaged: 2021-02-27 18:22:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,914
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22670128
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hannahhsolo/pseuds/hannahhsolo
Summary: “Big shout out to BnzazaBxch” there was no way in hell he had said that right, “ for the gift sub to Bambiiiisasexgod23!” Steve grinned at his camera, and went to high-five it.“And double high five for that username, Bambiiiisasexgod23! Flattery will get you everywhere.” Steve lifted his bedazzled coffee cup to his lips and took a sip of his iced vanilla latte, giving a little more face than might have been necessary to the camera.Predictably, the chat blew up.Billy Hargrove thought Bambiii was everything that was wrong with the internet.
Relationships: Billy Hargrove/Steve Harrington
Series: Twitch Thot AU [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1640458
Comments: 49
Kudos: 386





	Begone Bambiii: A Study into Twitch's Worst

**Author's Note:**

> welcome to my tumblr fever dream !!!!  
> this au has been on my damn mind for weeks and i'm soooo glad i could get it up for week of love !!!  
> these boys are insane and kinda stupid but i've fallen a little bit in love with them, and i hope u will tooooo  
> anyways, enjoy...this one goes out to all y'all on tumblr that have inspired me when it came to this au, thanks for helping me out guys!

“Big shout out to BnzazaBxch” there was no way in hell he said that right, “ for the gift sub to Bambiiiisasexgod23!” Steve grinned at his camera, and went to high-five it.

“And double high five for that username, Bambiiiisasexgod23! Flattery will get you everywhere.” Steve lifted his bedazzled coffee cup to his lips and took a sip of his iced vanilla latte, giving a little more face than might have been necessary to the camera.

Predictably, the chat blew up.

ForgetMeL0ts: omggg suck it 

Scottwhat404: never thought id be jealous of a straw,,,,okay

GiGipxzza: itll be an iced latte he basix

JohnCarter1968: are you single?

Animadnezz: u suck lol

_ Thirsty bitches. _ Steve smirked to himself. He’d been streaming for around three hours and was yet to get a Victory Royale. But all it took was one sip of coffee and the subs and bits came rolling in and he was having a great time so he couldn’t complain. Living the dream.

“Well you guys, we’ll go for one more then I gotta go.” He pouted all big and dramatic, fluttering his eyelashes. Queue tons of sad emotes. 

“I know, I know, but I got a date with my bathtub. Now lets kill some bitches.” He stretched out his shoulders and rolled his neck. A little too vigorously, apparently, because his headset fell off. He loved this headset, it had been a gift from Robin. It had these cute little ears and tiny antlers that just stuck out of his signature mountain of hair.

_ “Bambi, get it?” _

_ “Yeah I get it, Rob.” _

“Oh shit, my headset.” Never one to miss an opportunity, he did a quick check in his second monitor to see if the angle would catch him. And yeah, it would.

He stood up from his chair and bent down, taking his time and maybe sticking his ass out a tiny bit. He was wearing a tie-dye crop top and grey booty shorts, knowing full well what these people watched him for. Because it sure as fuck wasn’t for his gaming skills.

When he straightened out his body a few seconds later, he was greeted by more bits and cheers. One of which was a gif someone had made of him throwing up a peace sign from when he went to a con last year as Sailor Mars. Or at least his version of Sailor Mars, which was whatever cheap sailor fancy dress costume he could find online. It didn’t matter, he knew he looked good. And he’d even used a hot glue gun to stick a red gem onto a cheap gold headband. So there’s that.

He finished #48.

Oh well, he tried.

“Well okay my dears, that’s me signing off for the night. Gotta go make sure Robin’s drawn my bath for me.” That earned him a ‘in your fucking dreams, dingus’ from the other room, “love you guys, see you tomorrow!” He stopped the stream.

“Nice to know you were watching, Rob! Hey, where were my bits?” Steve asked as he padded into the kitchen where Robin sat eating leftover chinese food at the breakfast bar, scrolling through instagram.

“Fuck you.” She mumbled around a mouthful of chow mein.

Steve grabbed an egg roll and watched her scroll over her shoulder.

“You follow Billy Hargrove?” Steve took a step back, gasped and put a hand on his chest, scandalized.

“Oh put down your pearls, Steve. It’s no biggie.” She double-tapped his picture for effect.

“No biggie? Rob, the guy has made three hate videos on me.  _ Three.  _ You can’t follow him just because he’s hot. Consider us beefing, bitch, I should kick you out.” Steve perched on a bar stool and threw his head in his hands.

“Such a fucking drama queen…” She muttered under her breath, “Okay, Steve, first of all, you know I’m gayer than a fucking snapback. Second of all, he’s only made one video about you, you were barely even mentioned in the other two. And third of all, I pay half the rent, you can’t kick me out,  _ bitch.”  _ She looked awful proud of herself.

Steve pouted a little more.

“You’re the worst.” Steve opened up his phone, “Why do you even like the guy anyway?”

“His photography’s lowkey good, see.” She stretched out her phone to show him Billy’s Instagram. There were a couple of shots of landscapes but all Steve could see were thirst traps.

“Jesus, and he called  _ me  _ a thot.” Steve grumbled, finishing his egg roll.

“You  _ are  _ a thot.” Robin retorted. Steve flipped her off.

“This egg roll tastes like ass.” Steve complained, despite the fact that he had just finished the whole thing. He wandered over to the fridge.

“Surprised you remember what that tastes like.” Robin dumped her chopsticks and food cardon in the trash. Steve’s middle finger was getting tired, he chose to ignore her and opened the fridge.

“Aw shit, why you gotta do me like this?” He swore there were two cans yesterday.

“What are you whining at now? Jesus, you’re in a mood today.” Robin had started doodling in a notebook Steve hadn’t noticed before.

“Did you drink all my coconut La Croix? There were like 2 cans left yesterday.” He was in a mood, and it was all Robin’s (and kind of Billy Hargrove’s Instagram’s) fault.

“Yeah sorry, Heather saw them and I couldn’t stop her. Girl’s a force.” And Steve couldn’t deny that. He actually really liked Heather, and he was glad to hear that Robin was spending some more time with her, she was pretty cool, in fact, she was so cool that he was okay with her drinking his coconut La Croix.

“Don’t know why you guys like that shit anyway, it's fucking grim. I have some disgusting friends.” She shook her head. Steve opened a can of lemon.

“Just friends, huh?” Steve leaned on the counter with his elbow, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

“Yes, Stevie, I hate to break it to you but fully grown men in crop tops are not really my gig.” She was avoiding the question, of course.

“Did Heather stay the night?” He winked and rested his chin on the heel of his hand, the lemon La Croix tasted like dish soap.

“No, I’m not a slut like you, Dingus.” But her lips were holding the hint of a smile.  _ Oh she totally stayed the night. _

Steve chose not to say anything to her, he’d leave it be for now. He had more important things to focus on, like running his bath and stalking Billy Hargrove’s socials.

* * *

When he sunk into the bubbles, colored bubblegum pink from some ‘Lush shit’, as Robin would say, he cleared his mind and relaxed a little. Of course, he couldn’t live his full Pretty Woman fantasy for too long before his phone buzzed beside him, interrupting his vital relaxation time. He had a notification on his YouTube app, and his Twitter had blown up, too many mentions and retweets to count. He allowed himself to be confused for a few seconds before opening up YouTube, hoping it was just a new movie commentary for him to watch before he went to sleep. How wrong he was.

_ Oh hell fucking no. _

**Billy Hargrove uploaded: **BEGONE BAMBIII**- A Study into Twitch’s Worst**

No.

No  _ fucking  _ way.

* * *

“I mean, the guy can’t even play video games. Not like he’s just kinda crappy either, he genuinely does not know how to play them.” The light of Billy’s camera blinked at him, “And that’s a big ol’  _ huh?”  _

He hadn’t uploaded in a couple of weeks and the people were starting to get rowdy, but up until that moment he’d genuinely had no idea what to make. His Ad revenue from Youtube and Instagram was doing okay and he really hadn’t needed to make anything new for a while, but he liked giving his subscribers what they wanted and the 1 million mark was so close. When he’d hit 980k he’d decided he needed something big for that final push. And, well, his videos involving Bambiii were his most viewed on his channel...by a long shot. Everything surrounding the guy seemed to generate a buzz, and frankly, he was easy pickings.

“And let’s talk about how  _ obvious  _ he is,” Billy had been rambling at the camera for over an hour now, he was going to have some work to do editing this shit, “he’s all ‘ready to plug into my second controller port?’ and ‘fiddle my joystick’, I mean come on!” 

Yeah,  _ that  _ might get cut. It sounded like he was paying way too much attention. Which he definitely, absolutely was not.

The thing is, the Bambiii thing had just started as a fleeting reference, he’d mentioned him in a video dedicated to Belle Delphine during the whole bathwater thing. Yeah, original right? Anyway, the vast majority of the comments on that video had been about Bambiii, and it turned out he had a way larger following than Billy had originally thought, and a large following meant juicy content for him. And boy, was there a lot of content when it came to Bambiii.

He’d watched  _ hours  _ of Bambiii’s streams, like he watched them while he got ready in the morning, while he edited videos, while he went to sleep. And everything the boy did seemed to grind Billy’s gears. And, in the absense of many close friends in LA, Billy had to vent in the only way he knew how, through a commentary video.

His first video on Bambiii had been extremely rant-y. He’d done very little editing and just spewed all his thoughts on the guy straight to the camera. Of course, there was the expected slew of hate from Steve’s little fans, but the hate meant very little when the views, and the ad paychecks, were flowing in. He’d even managed to score a sponsor on his last Twitch video, so the idea of filming another was just too tempting.

The only thing that did worry him a little was the hashtag  _ #BillyHargroveiscancelled  _ that flew around Twitter a bit. There were a handful of people who branded him homophobic for his videos on Bambiii, saying that he was bashing him simply because he was gay, Billy had to fight the urge to reply, saying that Bambiii was actually bi, not gay. To say these people were his fans they really knew nothing about him. And anyway, it wasn’t nearly true, he wasn’t bashing him because he was gay or bi or anything, he was bashing him because he was a dumbass.

Plus, they would change their tune if they knew how often Billy frequented the gay bars of We-Ho. 

See, Billy wasn’t out. He couldn’t be out. His dad would fucking kill him. But anyone who knew Billy closely- and yeah that might only be limited to his step-sister, his friend Heather and his dog- knew Billy was as queer as a three dollar bill. But the minute the internet found out about that little titbit, Billy Hargrove would be cancelled for real, moderate internet fame be damned. 

Really though, being gay was irrelevant, Bambiii was a grade-A imbecile who used the naivety of little kids and the horniness of teenagers to build a career out of something he was truly terrible at. And Billy didn’t think that was very fair. So he’d begun to compile some research into Bambiii for his next video, which was going to be bigger, better and bitchier than the others combined.

Shane Dawson watch out, Billy Hargrove is coming for your gig.

“According to Wikipedia, Bambiii- real name Steve Harrington- grew up in Hawkins, Indiana, a small farming town about an hour out of Indianapolis. Reports from his classmates say that he was a popular jock with the reputation of being a bit of a ladies man at the time. Something that all went down the pan the minute he hit graduation.” This was common knowledge on Twitter where plenty of pupils at Hawkins High had decided to get their 15 minutes by sharing stories about Steve Harrington with a yearbook photo attached. He did look a lot different back then, hair not as crazy, clothes pretty tame. In one of them, he was wearing a fucking polo shirt for Christ’s sake, a far cry from tie-dye crop tops and Pikachu onesies.

“ _ Yikes,  _ there’s a lot to unpack there but let’s start with this...Steve? His name is Steve? What is he, 40? I was expecting like Aziraphale or some shit.”

* * *

“ _ Oh  _ so now he doesn’t like my  _ name? _ I can do nothing right for this guy.” Steve gestured wildly, all but flinging his phone at Robin who sat in the window seat, reading a book on Greek mythology.

“Steve, you’ve watched the video like 17 times now...you could probably recite the thing if you wanted.” Robin retorted, never once looking up from her book.

Steve pulled a face at her, that was definitely an exaggeration, it can’t have been more than 15 times.

He had been halfway through his stream that night when the chat had blown up with the news that Billy Hargrove had dropped his latest video…and it was entirely focussed on tearing Steve to shreds.

_ Bxbiiiiiiibabiiiiiii: so who’s gonna tell him?;,( _

_ Joeyhotdogs101: yooo stop attempting to play overwatch and get yo ass to yt _

_ Whoisthiskid: BILLY H MADE ANOTHER VID ABOUT U _

_ JohnCarter1968: Who is this Billy Hargrove _

_ Steviehstan4eva: i smell enemies to lovers yo _

_ Fmlol: boy he read u to filth _

Steve had taken the advice of the ever-wise Joeyhotdogs101 and ended the stream right there and then, grabbed his phone, opened up the YouTube app and gone straight to Billy Hargrove’s channel. And then he died. Deceased, right there on his bedroom floor. Okay, maybe he was being a little dramatic but it  _ hurt,  _ okay?

Hurt so much that he spent the rest of the evening watching the 18 minute video on repeat while crying into a cheap bottle of tequila.

He was wrapped up in misery and a pink bathrobe and he tried to ignore his life crumbling around him.

“Alright Harrington, that’s it.” Robin threw her book down and stood up with a start. Steve just looked up at her through his limp hair and watery eyes.

“Huh?” Steve was so distraught he couldn’t even function.

“You’re putting your phone down, taking a shower and we’re going out.” She had her hands on her hips, giving Steve her stern face, the one she only broke out when she meant business.

“Ugh, but  _ Rob…” _ Steve whined and buried his head into one of the throw pillows on the couch.

“No, Steven.”  _ Oh Steven,  _ she meant business, “We’re gonna go out, dance like the pair of idiotic gays we are, and you’re gonna forget all about that asshole, okay?” 

There was no way she would let this slide. And Steve could use a cocktail.

Steve sighed dramatically and Robin rolled her eyes.

“Can we go to Popcorn?” Steve had decided to fully take advantage of the situation, and peeked around from the pillow sheepishly. He had her in the palm of his hand.

“Yeah, sure, you bougie bitch. I’ll even buy you a goddamn Aperol spritz.”

Steve smiled a little.

“Now get your ass in the shower.”

* * *

The reaction to the video had been even better than Billy expected. It had been up for 2 hours and already had 198k views, it was shaping up to be his most successful video yet. He was all smiles when he texted Heather that they should celebrate. She of course gave him her usual shit, saying that Steve Harrington was a friend of a friend or whatever and he was actually a sweet guy who didn’t deserve this...blah blah blah. Billy didn’t really give a fuck, he just shrugged it off and they agreed to disagree, Billy didn’t see why that meant they couldn’t go out for a drink though. Heather had reluctantly agreed and before he knew it they were both in the back of a Lyft headed toward Santa Monica Blvd.

Ever since moving to LA two summers prior, the streets of We-Ho had become like a second home to Billy, and he had figured out how to be discreet enough, knew just the right bars where people would have no clue who he was. The vast majority of his fans were between the ages of 10 and 14, and there was no way he would run into any of them here, the only danger was that someone might recognise him from Instagram, but given the way he projected false heteronormativity all over his Instagram, he didn’t have a lot of gay followers. He was just another douchey straight guy that gay people rightfully wanted nothing to do with, and because of that, he was unknown in this little corner of town.

There had been a close call once, some guy Billy had picked up in a bar and spent the night with had gone on a Twitter rampage after Billy had left his YouTube app open on his phone. After Billy inevitably didn’t text him back, he’d gotten salty and got rumours swirling that he was gay. 

Of course, he was gay, but that wasn’t the point.

All it took was a few pictures of him having dinner with Heather at her parent’s house to put all that to rest.

He and Heather had a pretty sweet thing going, they were both okay with being each other’s beards.

_ Don’t use that term, Billy. Jesus, your internalised homophobia astounds me sometimes. _

He didn’t get it though, that’s what they were. Of course Heather wasn’t his official girlfriend, it was a truth universally acknowledged that Billy Hargrove didn’t do commitment. Heather toed the line just close enough that people thought they were boning, but still followed Billy thinking they had a chance. And his connection to Heather helped him keep his dad off his back.

Heather was a smoke-show, for sure, and if he had ever wanted to go anywhere near a vagina then he was sure she’d be great. But unfortunately, Billy liked sharp jaws and big dicks too much to settle for anything less.

When they pulled up to  _ Popcorn,  _ a relatively upmarket bar in this usually trashy part of town, Billy couldn’t get out of the car quick enough, he was itching for a cigarette. He usually vaped but allowed himself to buy a pack when he went out drinking, it was purely a social thing, as much as Heather told him he was full of bullshit.

He flicked open his zippo to light his cigarette and took a long drag, blowing it into the warm LA night, feeling happier than he had in a long time. Well, maybe happiness was a stretch, but he felt rich. And that was almost the same thing.

Heather was furiously tapping away at her phone, she had been all night, and Billy was starting to get kinda pissed about it.

“Yo, so who you keep texting dude? You only ever text me or your mom. And after the night we had, your mom is definitely asleep by now…” Billy waved his hands dramatically in front of Heather’s face.

She didn’t take her eyes off the screen. She just gave him the finger.

“Shut the fuck up, man. My life doesn’t just revolve around you,”  _ Okay, Billy knew that was a lie,  _ “I have a...friend who’s out tonight. I’m just seeing if she wants to meet up.” His ears pricked at the  _ she  _ part. This was brand new information. Good for Heather.

“A  _ friend,  _ huh?” Billy wiggled his eyebrows at her and licked his teeth.

“You’re so fucking gross, Hargrove.” She rolled her eyes, “And  _ yes  _ a friend.”

“Why haven’t I heard about this friend, then?” He squashed his cigarette butt under the toe of his doc.

“You  _ have  _ heard about her, you just don’t listen to a word I say.”

And,  _ yeah  _ she had a point there.

Before Billy could even attempt a reply she was already trotting off into the bar, throwing a “they’re already inside” over her shoulder. 

Billy just sighed, tucked a stray strand of hair behind his ear and followed her inside.

_ Popcorn  _ was all muted music and twinkly lights inside, one of those places that  _ fancied  _ itself fancy, it really wasn’t Billy’s scene but it was discreet and too pricey for the kids who watched his shit to afford so at least he could fly under the radar.

Heather was out of sight for now, there weren’t many people in the bar but the way it was laid out meant that there were a lot of hidden corners. Another thing Billy liked, a dark corner. He decided he would just get himself a drink; enjoy the peace and quiet for a minute before he was forced to socialise with Heather’s friends. It wasn’t a chore really, he loved Heather like a sister and she was usually a pretty good judge of character. She had once told him that she enjoyed spending her time with good people. Billy must have been the one exception to that.

He’d ordered a Jack and coke from the handsome bartender who’d slid it over to him with a smile. His mahogany skin was all warm under the lights of the bar, and his smile was kind, crinkling his eyes at the edges.  _ Hm, he might be fun. _

Just when Billy was about to turn on the charm, he heard Heather’s voice. He was mildly irked, but he had come out with Heather, and running off with the first moderately attractive bartender he saw was not the way to be a good friend. He simply paid for his drink, tipping generously and turned to face her voice.

“Billy! Come say hi to Robin.”

Heather was fucking  _ beaming.  _ Waving Billy over to her table, eyes a little wild, where she sat with another girl, and some guy with fucking  _ insane  _ hair who had his back to Billy.

Ah,  _ Robin.  _ This must be the elusive  _ friend  _ that Heather had been talking about. And yeah, Billy was right, she was definitely more than a friend. This Robin chick  _ screamed  _ gay, she had shoulder length blonde hair, a ton of piercings, and chain necklaces. The girl was wearing  _ dungarees  _ for fucks sake. She was pretty, and looked really fucking cool, and was looking at Heather like the sun shone out of her ass, Billy liked her instantly. He took long, assertive steps over the table, extending his hand out to shake hers.

“Hey, I’m Billy. Robin is it?” 

“Holy  _ shit.” Okay, not the reaction he was expecting.  _ She was looking at Billy now, still with the wild smile but her eyes were wide and worried, words stuttered through clenched teeth. Like she’d just seen something she didn’t like.

Billy simply furrowed his brow and gave Heather a questioning look, she mouthed ‘I’m sorry’.

_ Fucking weird. _

When Billy eventually dragged his eyes to the guy who sat at the table with them, it all made sense. 

_ Oh. _

There was no telling how long the silence hung in the air, Billy and Steve just staring at each other like they’d each reached their own personal hell. Billy never thought he’d see him in the flesh, and he was kind of not prepared for it. Bambiii had been this thing in his head for the longest time, like he’d only lived in there, perpetually hated, hanging around like a bad smell. A profitable bad smell, but bad all the same.Too sickly, saccharine and cloying. He was all candy floss hair and rainbow crop tops, bouncing around Billy’s atmosphere giving endless content and ridicule, kind of like an irritating child high on Haribo and juice pops. There was a vague realisation somewhere in his mind that Steve existed.

Steve fucking Harrington sat, fingers knotted in his lap, eyes bugging. Bambiii is fucking right.

But seeing him sat in the bar, nursing some fruity cocktail, it wasn’t Bambiii, it was Steve. He was wearing these high waisted camel slacks, like he’s in  _ Guys and Dolls  _ or some shit, a pastel shirt, pressed and clean. Still soft, but a  _ man.  _ A man with long legs and crazy hair and a face that made Billy’s blood boil.

“Uh...this is…” Robin’s voice reeked with the awkwardness they no all felt.

“Fuck this.” Steve interrupted, his voice tight, he stood up and swaggered out, hips swaying dramatically. The silence returned as the remaining three blinked once or twice, not quite knowing what to do with that. Steve had been there, and then he hadn’t, only leaving behind his phone and half-drunk cocktail.

“I better...um...go see if he’s okay.” And then she was gone too. 

Billy took a breath.

“What the  _ fuck  _ Heather?”

“I’m sorry!” The words were out of Heather’s mouth before he even finished his sentence, “I didn’t know Robin was gonna bring him tonight! I seriously wouldn’t have suggested you come if I knew.”

“Wait wait wait, you  _ knew  _ they were friends?” Billy was incredulous, “Why the  _ fuck  _ didn’t you tell me?”

“I  _ did  _ tell you, you just never listen to me.” Her words were coming out in jolts.

‘ _ Steve’s a friend of a friend Billy, he’s actually pretty sweet.’ _

Shit. Heather had mentioned that she knew Steve, it was just one of those pieces of information he had chosen to ignore, anything relating to Bambiii made his skin crawl. And that night was no different, except it had him wanting to crawl out of his own skin, which was new. Meaning the shame, it wasn’t something he had expected to happen. He was ashamed of himself. The look on Steve’s face as he rose from his seat was just catching up to Billy, he was hurt, and afraid. And Billy didn’t want anyone to be afraid of him, he couldn’t have that, he refused to be the cause of fear in anyone else.

“Yeah, and what are you gonna do about it?” Heather could read his mind, that’s what came from so many years of friendship, she could see what was happening in his head.

Billy just sighed, and walked out of the bar to follow Robin and Steve.

* * *

“Steve!” Robin’s voice called out to him across the gravel parking lot. He’d sunk to the floor beside somebody’s beat up Toyota, desperately trying to breathe in what air he could from the humid LA night.

Suddenly Robin was in front of him, crouched knees creasing denim. She was all well-meaning wild eyes that weren’t easing his short breaths at all. Panic was building up inside him, it was like his heart had grown and grown and he could feel it pulsing in each nerve ending, in each nail and every hair. The world pulsed with him and he felt what little piece of his resolve remained crumble away from him. The pulsing in his hair was too much, his hands worked their way up to pull on it, to relieve some of the all-encompassing sensation.

Nails into scalp, knees into chest.

“Hey, hey, hey, Steve...look at me.” Robin put her hands on either side of his face, forcing his watery stare into her reassuring one.

“Breathe, okay? Breathe with me.” It took him several inhales to bring his breathing into time with hers but soon he got there. The slower the breaths came, the less he could feel his heartbeat, the better he felt.

Robin sat cross-legged on the gravel in front of him, smiling at him. She’d been friends with Steve for long enough that she’d been in this situation a thousand times before, she’d had to coax Steve down from worse places than this, and by now she had it down to a fine art.

So it's understandable, that she got pretty mad seeing Billy Hargrove standing over them, just as she’d calmed Steve down.

“Oh you better be fucking…” She scrambled to her feet, ready to pounce.

“Rob! Rob, it's okay. I’m okay, I promise.” Steve got to his feet and grabbed her by the arm, earning a sharp scowl from her. Her face would almost have been funny if she wasn’t so pissed, nose all scrunched up.

“Look, I just wanna talk, you guys probably think I’m a real asshole, and you might be right. But...I just wanna put my case across...I guess.” Billy was tripping over his words and scratching the back of his neck nervously. 

Steve was nodding, expressionless. Which stirred something in Robin. She knew Steve, and she knew he had a tendency to blindly accept things, people and situations, even if they made him uncomfortable. She didn’t know whether it was that he just saw the good in people or that he’d been placed in so many places he didn’t want to be that he eventually just stopped fighting.

“Robin, honestly. I’m okay...just...just go and see Heather, okay?” Steve was giving her pleading eyes, and she wasn’t convinced. She wanted to stay, wanted to fight his battles for him, keep big bad Billy far away from him. Because as much as she’d ridiculed Steve for giving a shit about him, that was when he was just an image on a screen. But that wasn't the case anymore, he was there and a very real threat. 

Steve had come a long way in the last year, and she wouldn’t let some Cali boy with a top knot break all that down.

But, what use was all that progress if she didn’t let him fight his own battles? He was a big boy, and had pleaded with her time after time to let him be his own person. This seemed like a perfect time for that, even if Robin didn’t want to believe that.

“Okay...just...text me if you need me, okay? I’m just inside.” Steve nodded.

“And you.” She prodded Billy in the centre of his exposed chest, “Watch your fucking mouth.”

And she was gone.

And the silence returned.

“Smoke?” Billy offered the packet out to Steve.

“No thanks.” Steve knew that adding nicotine into his system right now would just make him go even more crazy.

Billy waited for a beat before putting the packet back into the pocket of his jean jacket, without taking one out for himself.

Billy needed to focus, he’d watched a lot of the exchange between Steve and Robin moments before, he knew a panic attack when he saw one. He might not like Steve, or Bambiii, he wasn’t sure if there was a difference between them or not, but he didn’t want to make a bad situation even worse.

“Look, Steve…” Billy began,

“What did I _ ever _ do to you?” The words were out of Steve’s mouth before he could even think to stop them.

“What, nothing? I…” Billy couldn’t remember the last time he was flustered.

“Well it’s clearly not  _ nothing.  _ You’ve made...how many videos about me now? Three, four? You have some kind of vendetta against me, dude. So all I wanna know is why? Like I just don’t get it.”

_ A vendetta. _

Billy had no vendetta, Bambiii was just easy pickings that's all.

“I have no grudge, man. It’s just you...you make things pretty easy for me.”

“ _ What?”  _ Steve’s voice was both icy and confused, if that was possible.

“You make it too  _ easy.  _ Like, you’re a popular guy, got a decent sized following, and even the people who don’t watch your streams have at least heard your name. If they see your name in a title and your face in a thumbnail, they’ll watch. It just helps that they also like seeing me riled up.” Billy shrugged like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“Wait, wait, wait, hold up. You use me for fucking  _ clickbait?  _

Steve’s eyes were wider than the fucking moon, like he couldn’t wrap is head around what he was hearing. Billy thought it was obvious, it was to everyone else. Maybe Steve really was a dumbass.

“Bingo.”

“I think I could use that cigarette now.” He held out his hand to Billy like a goddamn  _ princess.  _

Billy fished the pack out of his pocket.

“I mean, it doesn’t help your case that you’re a fucking brat as well.” Billy mumbled around a cigarette, sparking it up and handing it to Steve, before lighting his own.

“I am  _ not.”  _ Billy thought that if they had been standing up, Steve might have stomped his foot with that.

“Are too, annoying as fuck.” Billy was half-joking. Like he fully believed what he was saying but tried to keep it light.

“You’re one to talk, Mr Tough Guy with your long hair and muscles and your piercings, you’re a fucking  _ cliché  _ Billy Hargrove. A cliché who has nothing better to do but sit around and make fun of people on the internet.

“You like my muscles, pretty boy?”  _ Okay, he should not have done that.  _ But it was like his body ran on autopilot, without engaging his brain. And the way Steve flushed with embarrassment was worth it.

“Okay...what the fuck?” Steve threw his hand up in the air, before running it through his mop of hair. He was all confused and exasperated and Billy found it hilarious.

“ _ That’s  _ what you got from that? You know you’re stacked, you get thousands of comments about it on every video. And anyway, you’re missing the point. You think you’re so high and mighty sitting in front of a camera, shitting on everybody else. But you’re  _ not.  _ You’re exactly the same as the rest of us. You think you’re so real, like you tell it how it is when you just miss the point completely.”

“Oh yeah, and what’s the point, Stevie? Hm? What’s the point in being  _ so  _ bad at everything else that you have to record yourself being  _ shit  _ at video games for a living. Giving all these fake little smiles to your fake little fans because there’s a  _ chance _ they might send you ten dollars. Sounds like a whole lotta bullshit to me Steve.”

That might have been a little harsh. But Steve could dish it out so he should be forced to take it too.

“Okay, first of all  _ fuck you.  _ And second of all, what makes you think I’m being fake? I love what I do, because when I’m streaming, it’s the only time I can actually be myself. You think if I was  _ fake  _ I’d be  _ this  _ bad at gaming? Why would anybody want to fake that? I  _ suck, _ Billy! But I like the conversation, I like the compliments, I like feeling pretty and yeah, sue me, I like the money! It’s no different from what you, or anyone else, does.”

And yeah, they looked like crazy people. Having some kind of screaming match in a parking lot wasn’t how either of them thought this night might go, but it was actually helping a little, Steve was working through some shit and Billy had fire in his veins again. They would never admit it to each other, but they were both kind of enjoying it.

“Say whatever you want, Steve. People agree with me, no matter how many pairs of hot-pants you squeeze your perfect ass into, that bubblegum world you live in is not real. And one day it’s gonna pop, and you’re gonna be so let down by what the world really is that it just might kill you. I hope you’re ready for that, Stevie, cos the world doesn’t give a  _ fuck  _ whether you’re pretty or not, it’ll still fuck you over.” 

Steve was a little taken aback. By several things. Billy’s voice was kinda raw, kinda wrecked, like in those war movies after some soldier had gotten back from battle. His voice said that he’d seen some shit, and that the world hadn’t been kind to him. Steve sorta hated the fact that he had this heart, a heart that bled even for the guy he hated more than anyone in the world. Hated that heart for making him want to  _ hug  _ Billy Hargrove. 

But, also,  _ perfect ass?  _ Ex-squeeze me? As much as Billy was an absolute shit-stain, he was hot, just might be the hottest man to ever compliment his ass. Hold up, wasn’t he straight?

Steve tried to shale himself out of that thought, and get back to the task at hand, but it stayed there, in the back of his mind, doing this little happy dance.

“If the real world’s as terrible as you say it is, can you blame me for not wanting to live in it?” Steve blinked once, twice. Billy did the same, before he smiled. This cat-like thing that seemed to splinter his cheeks in two. Dazzling, and suddenly Steve kind of wanted to whip out his phone and subscribe to his channel. Notifications fucking  _ on.  _

“Hm,” Billy huffed behind his smile, close-lipped now, and shook his head.

“What?” The fighting energy was gone from both of them now.

“It's just, you’re smarter than I thought you’d be.” Billy spoke to Steve without turning his head from the busy road in front of him.

Now it was Steve’s turn to laugh.

“Wow, Hargrove, no-one’s ever accused me of  _ that  _ before.” Steve was almost wiping away tears.

“Oh, don’t get me wrong, you’re still a dumbass. But you got a good head on your shoulders, man. I didn’t expect that.”

Steve thought that it was as close to a compliment as he was ever going to get from Billy Hargrove, and so he took it.

“Yeah well, thanks...I guess.” Steve was dumbfounded. “You’re still an asshole.”

Then came that smile again.

“Yeah, I know.” Laughing, Billy rose to his feet.

“I need a drink, you coming?” Billy threw over his shoulder as he turned back in the direction of the club.

“Yeah, I’m right behind you.” Steve felt bone tired all of a sudden, he’d been out of the house for less than an hour and he already wanted to go home.

“Okay.” Billy gave him this soft smile and swaggered back inside, top knot bobbing with his movement.

Once he was out of sight, Steve grabbed his phone and ordered a Lyft.

**Steve:** I’m heading home, Rob. Have a great night x

  
  


* * *

  
  


Steve hardly slept a wink, at least that’s what it felt like. He was tossing and turning and for some reason couldn’t stop thinking about Billy Hargrove’s stupid fucking face. The way his teeth looked against golden skin, blonde tendrils framing a frankly  _ godlike  _ face. It really wasn’t fair, Steve would have been able to keep his cool if the guy was fugly. But no, he looked like a goddamn movie star and was actually kind of  _ likeable  _ to boot.

Steve hated him.

He must have fallen asleep at some point, because he woke up in the morning to Robin coming home. She must have stayed over at Heather’s.

“Alexa, what time is it?” Steve called out groggily. He never got to hear her reply.

“Time to get the fuck up, bitch.” Robin came barrelling into his room, looking fresher than he expected, in clean clothes. So she’s keeping clothes at Heather’s now? Interesting.

“How about no? I deserve a duvet day after my traumatic experience last night.” Steve’s voice was muffled by his comforter as Robin flopped down on the bed beside him.

“ _ Your  _ traumatic experience? I thought Billy had killed you and dumped your body somewhere when he came back in alone. You’re lucky I need you alive to pay half the rent, otherwise I’d kill you myself for bailing like that. Like, what the fuck man?” She slugged him on the shoulder for emphasis.

“Yeah, I know it was shitty but I was tired. And honestly, I’d seen enough of his face for one night.”

It was another half-lie, but not even Steve knew which half was true.

“What happened out there anyway? Billy high-key freaked every time we tried to bring it up.”

She waited for her answer on tenterhooks.

And she was gonna stay there.

“Nothing, we hardly talked at all, for real.” Steve didn’t even know where to begin with their conversation so he decided he just wouldn’t.

“Bullshit.” Robin said at the exact same time as Steve’s phone buzzed beside him.

He chose to ignore her and open up his phone instead, there were the standard notifications from twitter and Instagram, but the one that caught his attention the most, almost made him outright swallow his tongue was the second one down on his list.

Right there, underneath a text from his Mom.

_ Billy Hargrove (billy_boy) started following you. _

“Holy shit.” Steve whispered,

“What...holy shit.” Robin looked at his phone over his shoulder. 

“What the fuck Steve? You were enemies last night, now he’s your biggest fan? What happened out there?”

Steve just shook his head.

“I honestly have no idea.”

“He only follows like 30 people you know.” Robin out here with the stats.

“31, now.” Steve retorted, and closed down the app. 

“What, you’re not going to follow him back?” Robin jumped out of bed and waved her arms around like a crazy person. Steve didn’t quite understand why she was so invested in this.

“Nope.” Steve wandered into his bathroom and slammed the door behind him, leaving her dumbstruck face outside.

“That’s really rude, you know!” She called after him, and he could tell that she was out of his room already, shouting from down the hall.

He could also tell that she didn’t know Steve had already tapped the little follow button on Billy’s Instagram the night before.

* * *

_ BAMBIII (xbambiiitwitchx) is now following you. _

Billy was all in his head, their conversation in the parking lot had been a roller-coaster of emotions, then he took off and now he decided to follow him on fucking  _ Instagram.  _

The guy was a head-fuck, that’s for sure. 

_ Can’t-get-him-out-of-my-head-fuck more like. _

Billy had watched  _ a lot  _ of Steve’s streams- for research purposes of course- but the tiny image of him in the lower left corner of the screen hadn’t prepared him for seeing him in the flesh. He’d been a little mind-blown.

First off, he’d been struck by  _ how much  _ of him there was. His legs went on for miles, so much that they always seemed a little cramped, sat on a tiny bar stool or leaning against a Toyota on the floor, he looked scrunched. He had an inch or two on Billy’s height, more if you counted the insane amount of hair on his head, which managed to be silky  _ and  _ voluminous, Billy told himself his awe was purely out of jealousy. Then there were the lips, pouty and moody but  _ full.  _ And his  _ eyes,  _ they were his trademark of course, but they were  _ more  _ than that, Billy found himself getting sort of disorientated by them. 

_ If the real world’s as terrible as you say it is, can you blame me for not wanting to live in it? _

And if Steve’s appearance hadn’t floored Billy, that statement had. In one sentence, he’d managed to flip the script on everything Billy had ever thought about him. He’d been kind of dazed for a second, knowing nothing apart from how much he wanted to kiss those lips.

And  _ yeah,  _ that’s when he’d realised it.

He was  _ obsessed  _ with Steve Harrington, and had been for a real long time. And his obsession had been hatred, infatuation and adoration all at once. It was so obvious. There was no use trying to deny it. If there was one thing Billy was proud of in himself, it was that he knew himself, he was a realist. And he could see now that he hadn’t really been annoyed all those nights he’d fallen asleep to the sound of Bambiii’s whining in his airpods. In fact, it had been his favorite part of the day. Now he’d had a taste of the real thing though, the streams just weren’t gonna cut it.

Billy, had followed Steve back immediately, and later kicked himself at seeming overeager. He didn’t care, he was just glad he now had some vague excuse to stare at pictures of Steve all day. And goddamn, there were some good pictures on here. Pictures of him cosplaying at cons, pouting at the camera wearing bunny ears, pictures of him and Robin in these stupid Pokemon onesies. He was such a dork, it made Billy smile.

Of course, he’d seen all these pictures before, he’d spent countless hours scrolling through all  _ 1139 posts  _ looking for the right thumbnail. Put then he’d done it with a scowl, now it was this soft smirk, laced with fondness.

He decided to wait until the afternoon to message him. Trying not to look as thirsty as he felt. Billy resigned to just posting a picture he’d taken a few days before at a gig. It was no secret he was a hardcore fucking metal head, everyone knew that, they went crazy over it in fact. And this particular picture that his friend Marc had taken of him, sweaty from the pit, t-shirt ripped and leather jacket open, was sure to make them even crazier. The rips in the t-shirt landed just over his cut abs and a peek of his nipple ring was visible, he looked fucking good. It was a fucking good picture. Some might call it a thirst trap, yeah. And who was Billy kidding, that’s exactly what it was.

He just hoped that it would trap the thirst of one particular twitch thot.

* * *

_ Billy Hargrove (billy_boy) sent you a message. _

And, okay. That meant something. Or maybe it didn’t. Steve was only freaking out a little bit.

He told himself to calm down, freaking out would do neither of them any good. He took a breath and opened the message.

_ Billy: hey, u wanna grab a coffee with me this aft? wanna talk. _

That definitely meant something.

And yeah, who was Steve kidding.

_ Steve: Sure, do you know verve on Melrose?  _

_ Billy: sure do, stevie _

_ Steve: great, say an hour? I gotta shower lmao _

_ Billy: see u in an hour pretty boy _

An hour. Steve could deal with an hour. He usually took way longer than that to get ready, but this was just Billy and he really shouldn’t care what he looked like to meet with Billy. 

He didn't have the heart to admit to himself that he really did care about what Billy thought of him.

While he was in the shower, he thought about the previous night. Thought about how crazy it had all been. How he should still hate Billy but it was getting harder and harder with every passing millisecond. He was, of course, a complete tool. He was self-obsessed, arrogant and cocky, he thought he was right constantly and looked down on people who had different lifestyles to himself. 

But there was something else there, and Steve once again cursed himself for being so fucking trusting.

_ You see the good in people too much. _

That’s what Robin had said to him once when he’d given money to a guy who had attempted to mug him. A really stupid thing to do, by the way. But Steve had a tendency to be pretty stupid all round.

He could see something else in Billy’s eyes, he could see a little vulnerability, that peeked out when he got keyed up or passionate. He had these little nervous twitches, he would scrunch up his nose like a little bunny, or run his tongue over his teeth. It was endearing, of course, but Steve thought there might be something else there too. He was sort of kind of ashamed of it, but he sort of kind of wanted to find out what that was.

He took the most time on his hair, fluffing it up just right. Put a little lip-balm on until his lips were plump and shiny.  _ Mmm strawberry.  _

He really couldn’t be bothered with contacts, and so decided on his glasses, threw on a white oversized sweatshirt and some blue jeans before wandering off down to the bus stop.

Steve could probably afford a car, but he kind of liked taking the bus. He could put his headphones on, listen to some ‘shitty indie tracks’ as Robin would call them and just watch the world go by. He also enjoyed conversation, and he could usually find that on the bus. There’d be a sweet old lady or a young mom with a baby who’d compliment his hair or his t-shirt and he’d have some company for 20 minutes. He liked people, and learning about people. And also, if he was lucky, he might be able to hold a baby, Steve loved babies.

On that day, however, the bus was pretty quiet, and Steve was unfortunately left alone with his thoughts. His nervousness rose and rose the closer to the coffee shop he got, he wasn’t really sure what Billy wanted to talk about, but he was prepared for the worst. Sure, Billy had been nice enough over DM, and if their last conversation was anything to go by, the screaming match was already out of the way. On top of the nervousness, Steve couldn’t deny that there was a tiny part of him that was looking forward to seeing Billy again. 

Okay, maybe it was quite a big part of him.

He couldn’t stop thinking about him: his hair, a pile of golden curls on top of his head; his frankly  _ beautiful  _ face grinning with  _ so much  _ expression; miles and miles on endless golden skin and the fire that lived in his eyes.

That fire was closer than Steve thought, because before his sixth song reached its bridge, the bus was grinding to a halt down the street from Verve.

Steve mentally chastised himself for bringing his most ostentatious reusable coffee cup with him, he’d picked it up on autopilot as he’d left the apartment and the guilt of harming marine animals stopped him from getting a disposable one. So there he sat, on one of Verve’s wooden benches sipping a Iced Soy Vanilla Latté out of a rhinestone encrusted cup, waiting for Billy to show. Steve wasn’t early, in fact, he was 10 minutes late, and Billy still wasn’t there. He had only just started to get mad when the bell above the door chimed.

And thank fuck for the killer AC in that place, because otherwise Steve would have melted into a puddle right there.

His hair was half in a top-knot on top of his head, leaving the rest of the golden curls to fall just over his shoulders. He had a pair of aviators low on his nose and his signature silver ring through his nose. He was all bright white t-shirt and tight blue jeans, looking like some kind of hipster James Dean. Steve was grateful he was tucked in the corner, because he had time to wipe away the drool before Billy caught his eye with that  _ dazzling  _ grin.

Okay, that was a joke, he didn’t drool.

_ Much. _

“Stevie!” He held out his arms wide as he strolled over to Steve’s table, his booming voice catching the attention of the few people occupying the cafe. Steve wanted to shrink into the floor.

“Hey.” Steve waved kind of lamely in greeting as Billy clapped him on the shoulder.

Billy leaned over to the counter slightly, asking the barista for a double espresso.

Ha, of course.

“How’s it going man?” 

And okay,  _ what the fuck? _

Billy was talking to him like they were old drinking buddies or something. Which was like, the opposite of what they were. Internet enemies didn’t have quite the same ring to it.

“Um...okay, I guess?” Steve frowned as he sipped his coffee through his straw.

The waitress placed a tiny espresso cup down in front of Billy and fluttered her eyes a little.

_ Nice try honey, pretty sure the guy’s gayer than RuPaul’s Duct Tape. _

Of course, he wasn’t out or anything. But his comment about Steve’s  _ perfect  _ ass and how comfortable he was in We-Ho told him all he needed to know. Steve might be dumb as a bag of rocks, but his gaydar was on fucking point.

Billy smiled and winked at her regardless.  _ Flirt. _

“Nice cup, princess.” Billy raised one eyebrow, and flashed his gaze from Steve’s face to his cup and back again.

Steve was  _ this  _ close to bailing, saying ‘fuck this’, going home and forgetting the whole thing, when Billy sensed his thoughts and put one strong hand on Steve’s forearm.

“Hey, hey, hey, look I’m sorry okay? Just stay, please.” His face was suddenly a lot more serious

“Why, Billy? The whole world knows you don’t like me. I just don’t get it. One minute you’re screaming at me, calling me fake, the next minute you’re giving me those  _ eyes,  _ saying I’m smart, then you make fun of me, then you want me to stay. It’s crazy, man. It’s absolutely batshit. So whatever you want to say to me, get it over with and we can go back to our lives.” Steve had had enough, sure, there was some part of him that  _ liked  _ Billy, but he wasn’t about to make himself miserable by spending time with someone who obviously didn’t like him.

“I...Steve, I’m… I wanted to...Fuck! I’m no good at this, man.”

Steve folded his arms across his chest and scowled. Billy ran his fingers through his hair, disturbing the artfully messy bun that sat there.

“I was wrong about you, okay? There I said it.” Their eyes met.

“I was wrong about you, and I’m sorry. You didn’t deserve what I said in those videos, what I said at the bar, any of it.”

The words just kind of festered in the air for a second. Steve couldn’t believe his ears. And he didn’t believe it, not for a second.

“If this is your way of making yourself feel better…” 

“It’s not. I mean it, Steve. Really.” And if he wasn’t spouting such bullshit, Steve might have even called his eyes earnest.

“Prove it.” Steve didn’t know what was going to come out of his mouth until they already had.

“What?”

“Prove it to me, that you’re sorry. That you didn’t mean it.” Steve leaned a little closer to Billy.

“How, Steve? What do you want me to do?”

“Take the videos down.”

And,  _ okay.  _ That’ll do it.

* * *

As gorgeous as Steve looked in that second, huge white sweatshirt  _ just  _ falling off of his shoulder, it wasn’t enough to make Billy do it. Those videos had made him more money than anything ever had. And he couldn’t give that up. Never mind the embarrassment of admitting he was wrong.

“Come on, dude, you know I can’t do that.” Billy scrubbed his hands down his face.

“Then this conversation is over. Goodbye Billy.”

And he was gone, stupid glittery cup still sitting on the table. He ran away once again. Billy could feel it again, that fire, burning deliciously in the way it always seemed to be around Steve Harrington. He felt like he might explode.

So he did what anyone would, he swiped the cup off the table and marched after Steve.

He left the cafe and caught sight of Steve stomping off like a toddler down the street. The morning had been sunny and humid, but clouds were gathering and Billy could feel rain in the air.

Steve’s legs might have been longer, but Billy’s walk was stronger, and he caught up to him easily.

“Hey!” He caught Steve’s hand and pulled him into an alley in between a bookshop and a thrift store.

“Leave me alone, asshole!” Steve scowled again, sculpted eyebrows drawing together tightly.

“No! Not until, you fucking listen to me!” They were close now, Steve had his back to the wall and Billy leaned in close.

“I did listen, you just didn’t say the right stuff.” Steve huffed and crossed his arms.

“You’re a goddamn brat.” The words came through Billy’s gritted teeth.

“ _ Excuse me?!”  _

“I said, you’re a goddamn brat, Steve.” And it was true, he couldn’t get his head out of his ass long enough to see that Billy was actually trying to be genuine for once in his life.

“Yeah? And you’re a self-obsessed dickwad!” They were nose to nose, toe to toe, arguing like fucking schoolchildren.

“A dickwad? That’s the best you got for me.”

“Yep, you’re an egotistical, selfish, immature dick...hm!” 

Then Billy’s lips were on his, silencing his childish taunts. The kiss tasted of fury and heat and passion and Steve’s strawberry chapstick.

It was kind of awful, there were vague cracks of thunder in the distance and the smell of dumpsters from behind them, there was too much teeth and too much space between them. 

It started out close-mouthed and tight, Billy was sure Steve would push him away.

But then the impossible happened.

He opened his mouth wider to allow Billy’s tongue access. He whined a little, all sexy and cute and let Billy push one muscular thigh between his.

Billy cupped his jaw and tilted it just right, licking into his mouth making them both groan with ecstasy.

It all made sense, in that moment. Both of them suddenly understood. They didn’t know what, they just knew they wanted this and nothing else. To keep doing this forever.

After making out like horny teenagers for god knows how long, they broke for breath. Billy rested his head where Steve’s neck met his shoulder while long fingers tangled in his curls.

“I’ll take ‘em down.” The words were muffled and labored but they both felt them.

“Whatever you want, Stevie.”

And Steve was kind of dazed. But all that seemed to fade away, like it didn’t really matter anymore.

“You don’t have to…”

“I want to.” Billy pulled back to get a good look at him. He rested a hand at the base of Steve’s neck and looked into his huge, Bambi eyes.

They’d talk about it later. Emotions were too high for that shit, and they both knew things could change in the cold light of day.

* * *

“You forgot this.” Billy pushed Steve’s coffee cup into his belly. And Steve smirked.

“Fuck you.” And he leaned in for another kiss. Their lips barely brushed but they could both feel a smile on the other’s face.

Just as Billy craned his neck, trying to get a better angle, the heavens opened.

Steve shrieked, attempting to cover his hair with his hands, a futile act as most of it was already plastered to his forehead.

“My cars two blocks over, come on pretty boy.” He grabbed him by the hand and set off running, dragging Steve behind.

It was all kinds of exhilarating, the fighting, the kissing, the running, the rain. So much so, that neither of them could contain their laughter. They whooped and hollered, diving through streets and alleyways until they reached Billy’s Camaro, sitting pretty, rain bouncing off the spoiler.

Their laughter continued long after they were in the car. And even through hysterics, Billy noted just how cute Steve looked with his face scrunched up in laughter.

It eventually faded to heavy breathing, and before he could talk himself out of it, Billy grabbed his phone out of his pocket.

“Hey, what are you doing?”

Steve could see that Billy had opened up the YouTube app and was scrolling down his channel. He made a mental note that Billy had hit 1 million subscribers.

“I’m taking down the video.” He said all matter of fact and stubborn. Steve hated it. It would just be so obvious.

Instead he grabbed Billy’s forearm and said,

“I think I have a better idea.”

  
  


_ 6 months later. _

  
  


“And that means NapoleonHoenamite, Thanks for the gift sub group hug! You know what that means...” Steve stood up. This was his moment. He was just wearing an oversized hoodie and boxers. Boxers that just so happened to be the merch of one Billy Hargrove, released shortly after he hit 1.5 million subscribers.

Steve leaned over to his whiteboard, it took up the right hand half of his shot and was reserved for people who were extra nice with their bits and gift subs. He knew exactly what he was doing, just the way to lean over so that all 19,000 viewers would see what was written across his ass.

Steve couldn’t see the monitor but he could feel the hoodie rise up over his underwear. The words ‘HARD ON FOR HARGROVE’ were fully on display. 

Predictably, the chat blew up.

Foxoclock: HOLYYYYYYY

Bnzazabxtch: wait...hargrove?

Geegee2353: I fucking knew it!!!!

JohnCarter1967: Billy Hargrove? You can do better.

Godsavethememe: I ship it so hard,,,,it's twitch offish

The chat made Steve grin, he’d wanted to do this ever since they did their colab on Billy’s channel not long after their first kiss.

They’d done some stupid haters tag, answering questions about each other and shit, artfully pushing their beef aside. In reality, of course, beefing was the exact opposite of what they were doing. 

They had been inseparable since that very first day, so much so that Robin had moved out to get away from ‘all the tongue’ as she said. Really, they all knew she just used it as an excuse to move in with Heather. Although they hadn’t had any kind of official conversation, and it was way too fast, Billy stayed at Steve’s apartment most nights, practically all of his clothes were there and he had even moved his weights into Steve’s dining room.

People had started suspecting they were something more when Steve had done a stream wearing one of Billy’s Metallica t-shirts, tied at the waist of course. His viewers had sworn they could hear AC/DC playing in Steve’s apartment.

_ ‘There’s no way that’s Bambiii’s music, I bet the hardest thing he listens to is Imagine Dragons.’ _

And 

_ “Hey Stevie, have you seen this? Apparently our new ship name is Thötley Crüe.” _

The thought made Steve smile, he liked having Billy’s presence in the apartment. He liked having Billy in the apartment. In fact, he just liked having Billy.

Steve didn’t acknowledge the chat again until the very end of the stream when a surprise message appeared in it, and he just couldn’t resist.

Billy_boy: hey pretty boy, u wanna model for my merch site?

Steve fixed the camera with a stare,

“I’ll model for you any day, baby.” And stopped the stream.

That should do it. 

Steve giggled to himself as he padded through to the living room. 

“Oh come on! Why is Maddie top of the pyramid?! She didn’t even compete!” Billy was sprawled across his couch, can of Coke zero cherry in one hand, vape in the other, screaming at old reruns of Dance Moms on the TV.

_ Big bad Billy Hargrove, my ass. _

“Babe, Maddie left like a million years ago, I don’t know why you continue to watch this shit.” Steve complained as he plonked himself in Billy’s lap.

Billy went on to bullshit as to why he liked watching the dance show meant for teenage girls while Steve just stared at him, not listening to a word.

He couldn’t believe his luck sometimes. Because Billy was there, smelling of tobacco smoke and cherry coke. No longer pixels on a screen but real, human flesh with a face and hair, still in glorious technicolor. Both of them had made a career out of being watched, they both knew what people wanted to see, what made them attractive to their respective audience. But as he watched Billy there, in the same room as him, skin to skin, was entirely different. He was coarse, rough, full of stubble and rumbling voice; Steve was soft, fluffy and light. And in truth, he sometimes got a little overwhelmed by him, especially having him in his space. But then Billy would go and show him that there was no reason for those feelings at all. He’d stroke his face tenderly, or kiss his forehead and she him that he was meant to be wherever Steve was.

That was what had surprised Steve the most, he had expected to feel violated by Billy being here, but in reality, it was nothing like that at all. 

Billy fit, amongst all of Steve’s houseplants and fairy lights, he looked ethereal. He grounded the space around him with his  _ realness,  _ but Steve’s whimsical space elevated Billy to angelic. Steve couldn’t tear his eyes away, he never wanted to.

“Take a picture, Bambi, it’ll last longer.” Billy broke Steve’s ogling with a smile.

“Oh I think I know how long you can  _ last.”  _ He purred, moving to straddle Billy’s lap.

“Mmmm, stop it, you little tease. I gotta make dinner.” But Billy’s hips were grinding up to meet Steve’s.

Steve kissed Billy’s neck and jumped off his lap.

“You better get on with that then.” Steve strutted out of the room, purposely lifting his hoodie slightly so Billy could see his own name plastered across Steve’s ass while he walked away.

Billy groaned, but he had laughter in his voice.

“Ugh! Begone thot!”

**Author's Note:**

> i hope it wasn't too shitty?  
> comments and kudos are literally my favourite things so please let me know down below what you thought !!  
> also i kinda wanna make this a series? like fluffy smutty goodness? what do u think?  
> tumblr---- @hannahhsolo


End file.
